"The young women and men of the Corps work hard protecting and restoring California’s environment and responding to disasters, becoming stronger workers, citizens and individuals through their service."

The CCC teaches young Americans how to build a better future for themselves by providing access to job training, education, mentorship, and communities focused on public service. It rules.

"Each spring, the Backcountry Trails Program assembles six crews of men and women, from widely diverse backgrounds, who leave behind the conveniences and luxuries of modern life and venture into the mountains to spend five exhausting months doing some of the most challenging and ultimately rewarding work of their lives. The members who comprise each of these crews learn through experience the skills of trail maintenance, construction, and the process of building healthy productive communities."

There is no better introduction to trail work and no better people to teach the next generation about the importance of public lands, hard work, and the human capacity for strength, endurance, and compassion.

"AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 Americans in intensive service each year at 21,600 unique sites including nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country. Since the program’s founding in 1994, more than 1 million AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1.4 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing more than 2.3 million volunteers for the organizations they serve."

AmeriCorps invests in our country's most valuable asset - our youth - and creates communities where careers are born and leaders are built. They have many programs offering a huge variety of service opportunities to people of all ages, and I strongly recommend AmeriCorps to anyone with an interest in hard work and public service.

"ESCC is committed to building a stronger and more inclusive outdoor community and we focus recruitment from underserved and marginalized populations. By way of hard work, new environments, education, and guidance on an intimate group level, our members will be given a role in creating new life experiences. Through work in the wilderness, our members will undergo a transformational experience, breaking boundaries, learning about themselves and others, and form a deep appreciation of the outdoors."

"The Flyin Ryan Hawks Foundation is a non-profit endeavor inspired by the life of Ryan Hawks. The foundation was founded in April of 2011 after Ryan, a well-known and widely respected extreme skier, passed away from injuries sustained during a Freeskiing World Tour event in Kirkwood, CA. To honor his legacy as a person, his family set up a non-profit foundation called the Flyin Ryan Hawks Foundation."

I am honored to have been chosen for a Flyin Ryan Adventure Scholarship for my Pacific Crest Trail hike. It is always a thrill for me to find people who are invested in making this world a better place, and I cannot tell you how touched I have been by the love and dedication of Ryan’s family. Their support will enable me to participate in a 6-day snow safety course, which will be invaluable to me as I hike the PCT and continue working as an educator with outdoor youth development programs. Check out the Flyin Ryan Core Values Challenge here.

"The mission of the Pacific Crest Trail Association is to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail as a world-class experience for hikers and equestrians, and for all the values provided by wild and scenic lands."

I am honored to have been chosen as a member of the PCTA's P3 Program and I will be advocating for the PCT as I hike this summer. The PCTA is the powerhouse that keeps the 2,659 mile Pacific Crest Trail maintained, funded, and accessible to the public, and their work is an inspiration to both public lands workers and users.

"Backpacker’s Bistro provides a gourmet, nutritious alternative [to traditional backpacking meals]. Our ingredients are healthy and fresh. All of our pastas and stocks are homemade. 2008 winner of the French Culinary Institute's Top Chef award, Melissa Lynn Lieser combined her passions for backpacking and food when she founded Backpacker's Bistro in 2016 with a simple philosophy: we believe that the most satisfying and healthy meals begin with whole, real foods. We believe in finding quality products from sustainable sources, locally if possible."

Melissa was kind enough to send me a big box of meals for my PCT hike and I couldn't be more grateful for both her generosity and the fact I'll be eating real food on the trail. Low sugar / high calorie / lightweight food is stupidly hard to find but these meals fit the bill, and taste amazing, and clock in at an incredible 125-146 kcal/oz for 12 bucks per 2 huge servings (like, actual hiker-sized servings). Tight.